Dentemax Takes 43,676 SF at Riverside Center

SOUTHFIELD, MI-Dentemax, the dental insurance subsidiary of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, has leased 43,676 sf of office at the 200,000-sf Riverside Center here. The 66%-occupied building is owned by NewTower Trust Co. Multi-Employer Property Trust.

Paul Beitz with CB Richard Ellis Detroit says that the subsidiary is operating out of two smaller offices in the Southfield area, and the move is a sort of consolidation for the company. “They also are very familiar with the building, as another subsidiary is a current tenant,” he tells GlobeSt.com. “They like the renovations that were done. The owners have spent in excess of $1 million on capital improvements, including buying the 14,000-sf office building next door, moving the tenants into Riverside Center and demolishing the building for more parking space. In addition, they’ve renovated the common areas, the lobby, elevator cabs and food service areas.” Beitz and Ed Wujek represented the landlord in the lease deal.

He says the current asking lease rate for the building is $19.50 per sf. Dentemax is now the largest tenant in the building, with other tenants including Cap Gemini, a consulting firm. It’s been a struggle to find tenants, due to Detroit’s struggling economy, Beitz says. “It’s a very challenging market in Southfield, we have office vacancy hovering around 30%,” he says. The city, with its central location and easy highway access to Detroit, Bloomfield Hills, Dearborn, Warren, Lansing and Ann Arbor, is usually seen as one of the best office markets in Southeast Michigan.